FAU STUDENTS SEEK TO PERFECT WALKERS

A class project presented by senior engineering students at Florida Atlantic University on Tuesday may become a real step forward for senior citizens and the disabled.

The class has designed and constructed prototypes for walkers that do not require lifting from the floor during operation.

Twenty-four students divided into five groups worked on the project since early January. The groups averaged 10 to 20 hours a week, researching, designing and building the walkers, said professor Karl Stevens, who assigned the project.

Stevens got the idea for the project a few years ago while waiting in a doctor's office and seeing an older woman having problems lifting and moving her walker.

The walkers had to meet requirements, including being operable on various types of floor coverings, being sturdy, safe and easy to operate, and having a lifespan of at least five years.

Stevens said that, surprisingly, his class could find no government regulations controlling the production of walkers.

Much of the design work went into the walkers' rolling and braking systems. The mechanics of many of the finished projects are simple.

Cara Carson, a senior in mechanical engineering, said her group used easily acquired, low-cost parts requiring little maintenance.

"You could run to the hardware store if you need anything," she said.

But the low-cost material appeared to be countered by high-quality craftsmanship.

"That won't break. You can take it any place," said Francis Davis, 91, pushing down on a walker's handgrips and doing a dance for emphasis. Davis and two other members at the Mae Volen Senior Center in Boca Raton volunteered to try the walkers.

The presentation of walkers was like a car show, with the students hawking the special features of their designs. Included were everything from intravenous and oxygen tank holders, to Velcro strips for securing door openers. Some walkers had collapsible seats color-coordinated with pouches made out of cotton, vinyl and other materials for holding small objects. One used a bicycle basket.

"My god, there's even a horn on it," Bob Birmingham, a Mae Volen attendant, said, looking at a model he described as the "Rolls-Royce of walkers."

Bertha Pertile, another Mae Volen member, also was impressed with the extras on the walkers. "I think my friends would like it," she said.

Birmingham, who drives Mae Volen members to their activities, said that a walker can become an intrinsic part of a person's life.

"She wants her walker and no one else's. It's like her purse," he said. "They mean so much to them. They know that without them they'd fall."

He described the students' walkers as "fabulous" and said they were "no comparison" to the ones some Mae Volen members use.

Stevens said that it would take one to two months to put the finished design of any of the walkers into production. He said that the ones on display were prototypes, and still needed work before they could be made available on the retail market.